No military can remain a military if hostile powers routinely launch missiles at its $7 billion aircraft carriers, ship-jack its vessels and humiliate the crew, or buzz destroyers to interrupt naval exercises. Yet this is now the new normal of the U.S. military and Navy in particular. These provocations at sea and in the air will increase, as Iran, Russia, and perhaps soon China grasp that there are no consequences to symbolically humiliating the U.S, but some utility thereby in limiting its range and outreach to allies. Perhaps to avoid the harassment, we can rename destroyers "outreach vessels," carriers can become "safe spaces," and jet-fighters can be "contingency operators."

Tax deductions are practically like stealing from the public according to Sanders. But of course he takes every single possible one he can. Because it's not hypocrisy if you care.

Bernie Sanders released his 2014 tax return this weekend, revealing that he and his wife took $60,208 in deductions from their taxable income. These deductions are all perfectly legal and permitted under the U.S. tax code, but they present a morally inconvenient, if delicious, irony: The Democratic socialist from Vermont, a man who rages against high earners paying a lower effective tax rate than blue-collar workers, saved himself thousands using many of the tricks that would be banned under his own tax plan.

With all of his itemized deductions, Sanders's taxable income was significantly lower than it would have been if he had taken the standard deduction. The deductions left Sanders and his wife paying $27,653 in federal income taxes in 2014, on a joint income of $205,271 - an effective federal tax rate of 13.5 percent. If that seems low to you, your instincts are right: According to the Tax Foundation, the average federal income-tax rate for a couple making $200,000 to $500,000 in 2014 was 15.2 percent. The "millionaires and billionaires" that Sanders is so fond of berating payed, on average, just more than twice as much of their income (27.4 percent) in federal taxes as he did.

On the campaign trail, Sanders's taxation philosophy is simple: If you can pay more, you should; deductions are not a justifiable reason for a wealthy person to pay a lower effective rate than someone who earns less. His web site declares, "We need a progressive tax system in this country which is based on ability to pay. It is not acceptable that corporate CEOs in this country often enjoy an effective tax rate which is lower than their secretaries."

...What Sanders did, using every option and advantage available under a Byzantine tax code to minimize his tax payment, is a normal practice for many Americans. But it's also exactly what the targets of his anger do. You can argue about whether or not that's greed, but it's impossible to argue that it isn't hypocrisy. The paragon of liberal purity is not as pure as he'd like the world to believe.

Respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement that "Divorce is usually the best solution when a couple can't seem to work out their marriage problems." In 2002, about half of Americans disagreed. Within a decade, the share had risen to more than 60 percent. In the most recent data, younger Americans - a cohort with the lowest marriage rates on record, mind you - were especially likely to perceive divorce as an unacceptable response to marital strain.

The beef is that men, women and transgenders can all enter as they please, making it uncomfortable for some of the crew. Women are particularly worried about walking in and seeing a dude peeing at the urinal.

Now this is interesting . we're told several crew members are too scared to complain, for fear they'll be labeled "transphobic," which would be the kiss of death on that set.

Note that crew members have unions that that they can complain to. I foresee a lot of hostile workplace lawsuits coming in the future over the new anything-goes bathroom policies.

14
Well, I suppose the FBI is full of righteous, devoted agents. I suspect they will soon be seconded permanently to DHS to be fired within 6 months for "bad-fit"

Posted by: Kindltot at April 19, 2016 11:09 PM (46G6B)

15
>>>I don't know if I should tell the psychos on the nomination thread that the ONT is Nood?

Fuck em. Let them wallow in their own shit downstairs. This ont is classy and luxurious, just the best. I mean, except for that puddle of...something...in the corner. That's not so classy.

Posted by: DC in River City at April 19, 2016 11:09 PM (e+1S5)

16
Returning to an earlier thread, I'm not familiar with the details of the Salem witch trials but for the European ones I go along with the fairly-recent proposition that the LSD-like mould in rye bread caused the delusions.

24
I love Hillary's quote there. That George Zimmerman shouldn't have even had a gun. Yeah, he should have taken his beating and potential death like a man! Screw self defense! Not allowed in Hillary's America!

Can't. Someone who definitely wasn't me broke into my house and drank all the gin. And used up all the lemons. That guy's a jerk.

Posted by: DC in River City at April 19, 2016 11:15 PM (e+1S5)

34
Anyone that has jazz records and the means to play them, yet doesn't, is a damned savage.

Posted by: Chupacabra at April 19, 2016 11:15 PM (Lv0zB)

35
There is a very interesting book on the effects of divorce on children, The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce, Judith Wienstein et al.One of the biggest effects is on the children, who have trouble with abandonment, and there are huge stresses for no other reason than suddenly the broken up family has to support two households on one household worth of earning.

It is a series of somewhat useful case-histories, followed up, but rigorous only in light that it is a psychologist who was doing it. Unfortunately one of the findings was that divorcing "for the children" actually hurts the children less than if, for example, instead of a divorce, one of the parents died.

Now that was a blow between the eyes when I read that.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 19, 2016 11:15 PM (46G6B)

36
I got to thinking about something... I've been pushing for us to hold a CO Morondezvous at a karaoke bar, figuring that'd be a lot of fun.

But... there's something I failed to take into account. It's kind of hard to sit and chat while someone's singing. What's the point of a meetup, if not to chat amongst ourselves?

So, I officially retract that suggestion. If you see this comment, BTH and Emmie, I now agree with you guys that it was bad idea, and I fully retract the suggestion.

39
Not to drive people away from the ONT but there's a thread about Better Call Saul at Instapundit near the page top and I know there are several fans here. (You know, who don't know enough to keep the spoilers to themselves. cough cough).

I haven't read the Slate column that sparked the thread; I'm reading the comments first.

Posted by: andycanuck at April 19, 2016 11:17 PM (jVvcc)

40I foresee a lot of hostile workplace lawsuits coming in the future over the new anything-goes bathroom policies.

Use the next sink, you pervert! I'm taking a dump in this one...

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at April 19, 2016 11:17 PM (OLNwX)

41
@35...My parents were divorced...hence my screen name. In fact, my mom when I was in college, died 22 years ago today.

*morbidly ponders if Maet has a tally mark for all those he has reaped on the wall next to the computer*

Posted by: Bete resigned to just watching the world burn at April 19, 2016 11:22 PM (Ojki1)

62
They aren't competitors. They aren't meant to be substituted for each other. They are entirely different designs for entirely different missions, and are meant to be used together.
Posted by: try landing an F-22 on a carrier at April 19, 2016 11:21 PM (dHVbM)

yeah but the Navy does not really want a single engine fighter do they?

Posted by: yankeefifth at April 19, 2016 11:23 PM (vb33c)

63
Sen. Fauxcohontas was on Twitter today throwing a tantrum because she thought Ted Cruz was "whining" about how difficult it is to run for president.

I say, everyone run to her Twitter feed and scream back at her: why isn't she upset Bernie isn't paying his fair share?

Honestly, I think that woman is even more of a hateful narcissist than Hillary.

Posted by: qdpsteve at April 19, 2016 11:23 PM (ntObR)

64Heh....I think only one of the statins is effected by grapefruit juice, but for some reason everyone thinks that they all are

I love grapefruit. My doc & the prescription bottle say no grapefruit. I also love gin but the world says no gin. I manage

6526 If Sanders wants to pay more taxes then he can pay more taxes voluntarily. Dickhead.
Posted by: Insomniac at April 19, 2016 11:12 PM (0mRoj)

I'd love to see the tax returns of all those super rich super liberals in Hollywood. Ya know, those humanitarians who blubber about income inequality, and then have their agents negotiate for obscene salaries for making a stinking movie that will probably tank?

Lena Dunham (say) didn't have to make her likewise-mediocre body an issue, yet she did. We are doing her a *kindness* when we tell her to cover up and to keep on topic of... all that... other intelligent stuff... she has to share...

"This is an issue only for lovastatin and simvastatin and is only problematic at the highest dosages," says Dr. Nissen, Cardiovascular Medicine Department Chair at Cleveland Clinic's Heart and Vascular Institute.

Long ago someone, (possibly he ont) linked a blog that had a bunch of photos from the 70's, and said that they all looked like they were about to have an orgy. But they used a euphemism of "about to make pancakes," or waffles or something.

Does anyone remember what blog that was? I thought it was James Lileks, but could not find it on his site.

Hat, I also agree. The thing about vinyl is, you don't have to necessary play the vinyl to enjoy it. The object itself is a work of art IMHO, particularly the center label design, outer jacket, and inner sleeve.

Back in 1984 when I bought my first copy of "The Crossing" by Big Country, I immediately fell in love... with the pitch-black Mercury logo label in the middle of the LP. I'm not kidding, I thought it was beautiful. It made the whole thing look like a slice of carefully grooved obsidian.

I'm thinking about getting a home base, then maybe one for my car later for the annual Dallas to Detroit and back romp.

Posted by: Blano at April 19, 2016 11:26 PM (heN73)

78
Andy Warhol. 15 minutes of fame. Look at me generation. To be known on Twitter as a victim is now the highest honor. If you can't be noticed by being you, time to fake a cake.

Public floggings. Period.

Posted by: AlaBAMA at April 19, 2016 11:26 PM (pUDQf)

79"The man who killed Trayvon Martin should have never had a gun in the first place."

-- Hillary Clinton

The democrats used to pretend to believe in controlling spending, limiting regulations, and they used to pretend that they didn't want to take your guns (at least when they campaigned in Michigan).
They're no longer pretending. They've gone full batshit crazy lefty.

Posted by: nerdygirl at April 19, 2016 11:27 PM (+lVUW)

80
having dunham walking around naked, even in her own home, has to be a hate crime.

Posted by: yankeefifth at April 19, 2016 11:27 PM (vb33c)

81
I saw the horned devil eyed Hillary hating Benghazi shaming pick up truck at the grocery today. At the kosher grocery store. I loved that

Posted by: ThunderB at April 19, 2016 11:27 PM (zOTsN)

82
Nothing in that VDH article makes me wish to do harm to myself or others. Not at all.

Posted by: Josephistan at April 19, 2016 11:27 PM (7qAYi)

83I wouldn't call telling Lena Dunham to put on her clothes, slut shaming. I would call it being sensible.

Posted by: Darth Randall at April 19, 2016 11:27 PM (KlVdw)

84
when collecting, condition is everything. if you want an item to hold it's value - don't use it.

Posted by: ALH at April 19, 2016 11:28 PM (Z56vq)

85
I've got a pharmacist friend who told me a long time ago that grapefruit effs-up alot of prescription drugs.

Posted by: andycanuck at April 19, 2016 11:28 PM (jVvcc)

86
I'm thinking about getting a home base, then maybe one for my car later for the annual Dallas to Detroit and back romp.
Posted by: Blano at April 19, 2016 11:26 PM (heN73)

dallas to detroit and back sounds less like a romp and more like a rescue mission.

Posted by: yankeefifth at April 19, 2016 11:28 PM (vb33c)

8716 Returning to an earlier thread, I'm not familiar with the details of the Salem witch trials but for the European ones I go along with the fairly-recent proposition that the LSD-like mould in rye bread caused the delusions.
Posted by: andycanuck at April 19, 2016 11:10 PM (jVvcc)

They serving that stuff in colleges now? People don't need chemical help to go off the rails.

103
What if I have a $25,000 tube amp? (I actually know someone who did that. I pray that he always hears the difference.)

--------------
Appropo of very little, when I was buying my stereo twenty plus years ago the salesman compared a $500 and a $2000 turntable, switching the cartridge/needle between the two. The difference between the two was astonishing.

109
You have to have extra padding to free-dive for pearls. It gets cold.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 19, 2016 11:33 PM (46G6B)

110Crew of Transparent not so thrilled about having to use a trans-friendly bathroom. This is like when it was pointed out that professional, liberal hypocrit Micheal Moore was shown to have not had union crews for his movies.

"This is an issue only for lovastatin and simvastatin and is only problematic at the highest dosages," says Dr. Nissen, Cardiovascular Medicine Department Chair at Cleveland Clinic's Heart and Vascular Institute.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at April 19, 2016 11:24 PM (Zu3d9)

Doc: dammit MH what happened to your cholestrol levels?
Me: maybe I've been partaking of grapefruit
Doc: what the hell are you doing? I told you no grapefruit
Me: but Charlie Browns Dildo told me it's ok
Doc: the food guy is a doc too? Huh, didn't know that

yeah don't hold your breath....especially if an "R", any "R", doesn't win the next Election

Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 19, 2016 11:35 PM (Ozsfq)

122
I think tube amps have diminishing returns. Nothing sounds better to me than a well designed tube system, but they do have limitations and usually what you're spending all that money on is more power. Generally tube magic is in the mids, and Al does a lot in that world so he would probably sound great. Though I don't think the LP's themselves would buy you much better performance. I would happily buy him on vinyl, if I ever saw decent copies, to try out.

I'd put my little SET tube system against most anything in a normal room for pure audio pleasure. But most audiophiles would absolutely hate how much fun it is to listen to.

125
67 Bring back public floggings. It would solve 90% of our problems.

Posted by: AlaBAMA at April 19, 2016 11:24 PM (pUDQf)

Bring back dueling. It'd solve 99%.

Posted by: Aaron Bthulhu at April 19, 2016 11:37 PM (EzgxV)

126
You know how the left always starts these stupid petitions that carry no weight and are useless? I'd like to start one demanding that Hills gives up all her armed guards. See how many lefties would sign it.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 19, 2016 11:37 PM (iQIUe)

127
According to this Hollyweirdo, you can be a "little gay" ie be a dude who is kinda attracted to other dudes, but you don't act on it.

I admit I think I got a defective model, only four years later it had burnt out its pre-tune memory. But, wouldn't mind having another one of them, if I can find one that's in good condition, affordable and still works okay.

A) it remains to be seen what kind of a platform the F35 is or will be, if it ever will be in all it's various forms

B) The F-22 is ONLY an Air Force Air Superiority Frame and nothing else. It does NOTHING to solve the server shortfall in the Navy or Marines Air Needs

Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 19, 2016 11:38 PM (Ozsfq)

134
Yes, Donnie and Marie were performing on a cruise ship a few years ago, you know the circuit where washed-up has-beens go to die, and she pissed herself right on stage. It was some QA with the audience, and something got her so tickled, she was laughing so hard, she just pissed herself right there in front of God and everybody as one of my old aunts used to say.

13571 What if I have a $25,000 tube amp? (I actually know someone who did that. I pray that he always hears the difference.)
Posted by: t-bird at April 19, 2016 11:25 PM (9mTYi)

Went to an audio show once. There was a large room with the ultimate stereo in it. Huge speakers. Huge tube amps that didn't look like a one-person lift. Turntable with a giant heavy disk of aluminum for a platter, with a visible belt driven by a motor that was at least a foot away. That rig must have been 6 figures.

They played some piano music, and damn if it didn't sound like there had to be a real piano in the room. The notes radiating from distinct points and everything. But...is that so important?

Well, there aren't such things. They have hi-bypass turbo-fans, with re-heat. I like the English term.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 19, 2016 11:38 PM (Bgg2j)

137
I bought a couple of vinyl records in the days before Internets. I played each of them exactly once... to put the music onto tape. It was the tapes I'd listen to.

Vinyl is inherently better than MP3, sure. It also wears out, as the needle scratches over those same grooves. Did the Pina Colada Song teach you nothing?

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at April 19, 2016 11:38 PM (6FqZa)

138
126
You know how the left always starts these stupid petitions that carry no
weight and are useless? I'd like to start one demanding that Hills
gives up all her armed guards. See how many lefties would sign it.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 19, 2016 11:37 PM (iQIUe)

Guns are bad and the government needs to set an example for the people. Start banning firearms at the government level!

140134 Yes, Donnie and Marie were performing on a cruise ship a few years ago, you know the circuit where washed-up has-beens go to die, and she pissed herself right on stage. It was some QA with the audience, and something got her so tickled, she was laughing so hard, she just pissed herself right there in front of God and everybody as one of my old aunts used to say.
Posted by: publius (not Breitbart publius) at April 19, 2016 11:38 PM (DW+jj)

Did any get on her feet? Asking for a friend.

Posted by: Dick Morris at April 19, 2016 11:39 PM (iMxBJ)

141
What happened on the thread below. Don't want to go there
Posted by: ThunderB at April 19, 2016 11:38 PM (zOTsN)

A) it remains to be seen what kind of a platform the F35 is or will be, if it ever will be in all it's various forms

B) The F-22 is ONLY an Air Force Air Superiority Frame and nothing else. It does NOTHING to solve the server shortfall in the Navy or Marines Air Needs
Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 19, 2016 11:38 PM (Ozsfq)

well that's what you Navy guys get for not going with the Super Tomcat instead of the Super Hornet.

150
bth, yup. The big thing in the 1980s was to have a nice turntable... AND a nice tape deck with Dolby B, C and HX Pro, so that you could duplicate your LP on the first play and never wear them out or cause them to ever get even the tiniest bit dirty.

Then CDs came out and that kind of went out the window. And I still remember how the record companies absolutely panicked when DAT recorders showed up; it was great technology and I wish it could have caught on, but no. That was a classic example of something being made scarce, only because idiots in industry had too much control over government resources and licensing.

Posted by: qdpsteve at April 19, 2016 11:41 PM (ntObR)

151
91 Dunham is fat and out of shape. That's the truth. But we can't say the emporer has no clothes. The truth is blasphemy.

When this becomes the norm, all is lost.

Posted by: AlaBAMA at April 19, 2016 11:29 PM (pUDQf)

Rectification of names, bitchez!

Posted by: cthulhu at April 19, 2016 11:41 PM (EzgxV)

152Long ago someone, (possibly he ont) linked a blog
that had a bunch of photos from the 70's, and said that they all looked
like they were about to have an orgy. But they used a euphemism of
"about to make pancakes," or waffles or something.

Does anyone remember what blog that was? I thought it was James Lileks, but could not find it on his site.

153
The legal arm of the U.S. Navy recently warned personnel against using personal email accounts to conduct official business and to never transmit classified information using non-official accounts.

But for the Sec of State it is just dandy I guess?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 19, 2016 11:41 PM (Ozsfq)

154
Well, there aren't such things. They have hi-bypass turbo-fans, with re-heat. I like the English term.
Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 19, 2016 11:38 PM (Bgg2j)

only because we have not made them, yet.

Posted by: yankeefifth at April 19, 2016 11:41 PM (vb33c)

155
I still say there's no air-to-air that the F-15C (or F-15J in the hands of our Israeli friends) couldn't bring to a swift resolution.

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at April 19, 2016 11:42 PM (J+n2j)

15670 yeah, dunham and her type would love to be slut shamed but all the get is ugly shamed.
Posted by: yankeefifth at April 19, 2016 11:25 PM (vb33c)

If slut shaming is such a problem, why isn't Kate Upton having problems with it?

175
I'm listening to Bob Dylan's "Shadows in the Night", which I finally got around to buying today. It's been out for a year, he has a new album coming out next month, and I have a ticket for a July concert, so I figure I better get up to speed.

https://tinyurl.com/jhg5jb6

It's an entire album of songs previously recorded by Frank Sinatra.

A musical legend paying sincere tribute to another musical legend. What's not to like about that?

Bob will turn 75 next month. He's like Honey Badger. He don't give a shit. He ain't no sixties nostalgia act, that's for sure.

I'm hoping that the new album, "Fallen Angels", which *also* consists entirely of Sinatra songs, will be more swinging. From the titles, I strongly suspect that will be the case. I am very much looking forward to it, and also to the concert in July.

178
"I can also tell the difference between $100, $1000, and $10000 amps,
but it isn't worth paying for to me, I can listen to a pocket mp3
player and be relatively happy."

Back when Dr. Jerry Pournelle was cranking out computer hardware reviews for the likes of _Byte_ magazine, including sound cards and speakers, an acquaintance of mine said to him at an L.A. science fiction fandom get-together, "Hey, Jerry, with all due respect -- maybe you ought to quit reviewing audio gear."

180
Rickl - I always thought Frank Sinatra should have covered "Simple Twist of Fate." He would have killed it.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at April 19, 2016 11:48 PM (AroJD)

181
The F-22 has the high -bypass turbofans and ....supercruise. The F-15's have a hard time keeping up with them even at full military power and with afterburners lit.

I would love to see a new F-15 with the same engines and vectored thrust as the F-22, and at a cheaper price. no stealth, but high performance.

And I do wonder if the F-22 could be engineered to be able to land on a carrier, and be cat-shot launched (heavier frame and landing gear?). It is really a fantastic airplane. We just don't have enough of them.

182
3 bannings? Who Norberto Sanchez? Oh, wait he posts over and over and over @ HotAir.

Posted by: redridinghood at April 19, 2016 11:49 PM (7GQM/)

183
I know that when Jim Morrison recorded the lead for "Riders on the Storm," he was crooning it the way he thought Sinatra would do it.

Didn't Frank then later on cover the same song? I think he did.

Posted by: qdpsteve at April 19, 2016 11:49 PM (ntObR)

184
Bbc radio had a guy on today. He is color blind. Said he is "Trans species". He has had an antenna surgically attached to his skull. It emits some kind of noise when someone sends him a color "message" so he "hears" color. Says he believes he has merged with the Internet. The U.K. Let him take his passport picture with the antenna

Posted by: ThunderB at April 19, 2016 11:50 PM (zOTsN)

185
"Not so sure "happy" is the term I would use and they are coming on line so slowly that it is severely effecting combat readiness and air worthiness across the Fleet and the Air Force"

189
Collecting records today is like starting a new Star Wars toy collection as an investment. Everyone's already onto it and they're probably never going to be worth what you spent.

Keep 'em clean as you can, replace your needle every 1,000 hours or so, and store them carefully. Then just enjoy them. I have no plans on having a bunch of once-played records be bought at my estate sale by some pony-tailed dweeb just to be flipped on Discogs.

Posted by: Chupacabra at April 19, 2016 11:51 PM (Lv0zB)

190
Country Singer, if you're around, thank you again for the email! My boss was reading the notes and swearing profusely.

19298 Dunham looks like a lot of folks in the South. We like fried chicken and macaroni & cheese.
Posted by: ALH at April 19, 2016 11:31 PM (Z56vq)

Yeah, but most people have the good taste to not inflict their naked flabbiness on the public.
No one should have to look at some stranger's cottage cheese butt.

Posted by: nerdygirl at April 19, 2016 11:52 PM (+lVUW)

193
"I still say there's no air-to-air that the F-15C (or F-15J in the hands
of our Israeli friends) couldn't bring to a swift resolution."

Hottest air to air F-15s in the skies are the ones which are in the hands of... our "trusted allies", the Saudis. Fly-by-wire, composite wings, activation of stores stations prohibited on earlier variants.

The U.S. could be flying those itself today, no problem. But instead, all efforts are directed towards the amazing new F-35 Faceplant.

Posted by: torquewrench at April 19, 2016 11:53 PM (noWW6)

194
Marie, she always seemed nice and real cute when she was young. She was the only reason to watch that horrible show she and her brother had: to see her being cute.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 19, 2016 11:46 PM (39g3+)

She's my age, looks good today, and yes I would hit her for 2:30 minutes

196
Dunham's problem is the same as a lot of people. It's less about the fat and more about the lack of muscle.

Posted by: Colorado Alex at April 19, 2016 11:53 PM (fC9RO)

197
Yeah, with women the problem becomes too easy to pee, but with us men, it becomes just the opposite. Had an uncle, lived alone, and didn't care to go the doctor much. He called down her to my mother one fine day, desperate. He couldn't pee.

Had a neighbor who got in the same fix, but slowly. It wasn't cancerous, just benign. They had to ream it out, but there was complication after complication. It ended up where he had lost control of his urinary sphincter completely and would just constantly piss himself.

The fix was an artificial sphincter. He had a little pump and release that they hung down in his scrotum. To pee, he had to release it, then pump it back up. It took a while to get the hang of it and not piss all over his hands when he hit the release.

198
And I do wonder if the F-22 could be engineered to be able to land on a carrier, and be cat-shot launched (heavier frame and landing gear?). It is really a fantastic airplane. We just don't have enough of them.
Posted by: Bossy Conservative....tortured American at April 19, 2016 11:49 PM (+1T7c)

the short answer is no...which is why in the past the old "one plane to fill all roles" has always been a bad idea.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 19, 2016 11:53 PM (Ozsfq)

199
Remember the classic episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, about Frank's collection of jazz records that the kids destroyed in 1969?

I'd like to think my niece, nephew and other young'uns I'm related to by the time I pass, will take those CDs and listen to them. Most are classic rock, pop and jazz from about 1955 to 1990. I will be sure to tell my niece and nephew especially, I hope they listen to them.

But who knows. They might just sell 'em all for a nickel each at the estate sale.

201
"And I do wonder if the F-22 could be engineered to be able to land on a carrier, and be cat-shot launched (heavier frame and landing gear?). It is really a fantastic airplane. We just don't have enough of them."

No, could not. It would be heavier and more expensive. That's the nature of carrier-borne aircraft. The F-35 is the navalized F-22.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 19, 2016 11:55 PM (Bgg2j)

202I would love to see a new F-15 with the same engines and vectored thrust as the F-22, and at a cheaper price. no stealth, but high performance.

2:30 minutes with current Marie? Are you some kinda sexual Marathon guy?

Posted by: Tim in GA at April 19, 2016 11:56 PM (YLidQ)

204
In my earlier comment, by "those CDs," I mean the CDs in my collection, as well as all the music in my hard drive. (Some albums I've found I can only collect again via MP3, Amazon has 'em for $5.99 that way while an actual CD is either unavailable or mindbendingly expensive.)

Posted by: qdpsteve at April 19, 2016 11:56 PM (ntObR)

205
"And I do wonder if the F-22 could be engineered to be able to land on a carrier, and be cat-shot launched (heavier frame and landing gear?). It is really a fantastic airplane. We just don't have enough of them."

No, could not. It would be heavier and more expensive. That's the nature of carrier-borne aircraft. The F-35 is the navalized F-22.
Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 19, 2016 11:55 PM (Bgg2j)

I don't have a link, but I read that Frank invited Bob to his 80th birthday party, which was a small and intimate gathering. Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme were also there, and I'm not sure who else. I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall in that room.

Posted by: rickl at April 20, 2016 12:01 AM (sdi6R)

216She looks great now, and is indeed a "GILF". But she did get to be sort of a porker before.

Aperture size in an aircraft is gated by the physical dimension of the nose, where the radar itself is installed.

What the F-35 has squeezed into it is an advanced AESA radar. Of small aperture, because the dimensions of the rest of the jet inexorably dictate a small nose.

There's no reason that a considerably bigger and better AESA could not be installed in an F-15, and in fact the Air Force's own interim fleet update plan calls for exactly that, with "Golden Eagles" which are meant to benefit from a bunch of advanced technology inserts.

Posted by: torquewrench at April 20, 2016 12:04 AM (noWW6)

222127 According to this Hollyweirdo, you can be a "little gay" ie be a dude who is kinda attracted to other dudes, but you don't act on it.
http://tinyurl.com/jhxcxsh
Posted by: Thrawn at April 19, 2016 11:37 PM (LlaxB)

Sadly, these people really believe that we care about their personal lives. As long as they aren't killing people in drunk driving accidents or spreading aids, I don't much care what they do.

i don't think that is the question he was asking. he was asking how the F4 was able to be both an Air Force Air Superiority Fighter and an Navy Carrier Jet at the same time. And the answer is, although I am NOT an expert on these things, that it was not a very dog fighting Air Superiority Air Force Fighter and the smaller more agile Russian Jets presented some problems

Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 20, 2016 12:05 AM (Ozsfq)

225Bbc radio had a guy on today. He is color blind. Said he is "Trans species". He has had an antenna surgically attached to his skull. It emits some kind of noise when someone sends him a color "message" so he "hears" color. Says he believes he has merged with the Internet. The U.K. Let him take his passport picture with the antenna
Posted by: ThunderB

The F-15A dates to the Gerald Ford administration. Are there any other comparisons of 1975 to 2016 on the table?

The F-35 has a lot of engine power for its size, but it is also stubby, draggy, and has a ridiculously high wing loading for a modern fighter jet. It takes a comparative eternity to accelerate to supersonic speed. It bleeds energy at hemophiliac rates in a turn. Last I looked, the entire fleet was still under strict G limits in turns, too.

Mind you, if someone had come to me and said, hey, would you please design a single-engine fighter jet, and make it stealthy, or sort of stealthy against radar at least, and also make it marginally supersonic, and oh, by the way, we want a variant that is short-takeoff and vertical-landing capable, and oh, also, it should cost no more than an F-16 does, I would have said something about crack and the smoking thereof.

LockMart and Boeing at least _tried_ to meet that insane spec. And with an absolutely massive infusion of money from Uncle Sugar, LockMart did get something that vaguely, distantly resembles what the spec calls for. After a lot of relaxation of standards and performance parameters.

Oh, and it doesn't work. But apart from that, bravo! Encore! Encore!

Posted by: torquewrench at April 20, 2016 12:17 AM (noWW6)

242The Empire State Building went blood red for Trump victory in the New York primary and kind of freaked everyone out.

https://goo.gl/MXen6W

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 20, 2016 12:17 AM (iQIUe)

243
DC, you still doling out booze? I could do with a vodka martini, extra dry, up, with a twist.

Posted by: bebe's boobs destroy at April 20, 2016 12:17 AM (BYJ2T)

244
Even at her heaviest she was always cute and made the effort to look good.
Posted by: Maetenloch at April 20, 2016 12:13 AM (pAlYe)

*****

Agreed, she has always been a classy lady. Her stepping it up lately is just a bonus, as she looks great now.

Noticed at the gym tonight I am the only one...well, a few others, that speaks English.

Yay. Fucking. Diversity..

Posted by: RWC - Team BOHICA at April 20, 2016 12:17 AM (hlMPp)

246
Divorcing with kids still in the home can be traumatic, and effects can be visited on several subsequent generations.

Parents suddenly divorcing when a kid never suspected they ever had anything but love for one another, then going through a terrible dragged-out legal dispute about who gets what kids, then mom remarries former uncle who is dad's worst enemy and dad remarries a black widow with three horrible offspring and mom moves you away from the only home town you've ever known and dad dies not long after that can be kinda hard, too. I imagine.

257
"That's what it comes down to. Fly farther. Carry more. Be more
invisible. Do jobs for multiple services. In the works since the 90's. I have a hard time with that."

See also, apart from the "jobs for multiple services": A-12 Avenger.

If the F-35 did what it said on the tin, I'd be ecstatic. Sadly, no.

Now we're really in a pickle. Also, on the other link upthread about restarting the F-22 production line: dood, has anyone done the math on the number of component subcontractors for that jet who literally no longer exist?

Out of business? Chapter Eleven? Gone fishin'? Folded their tents? Joined the choir invisible? Pining for the fjords? Dead parrots?

Posted by: torquewrench at April 20, 2016 12:32 AM (noWW6)

258
>>>DC, you still doling out booze? I could do with a vodka martini, extra dry, up, with a twist.

I don't need prompting to pour out drinks for the ettes. Lessee, Tito's, dry vermouth, lemon twist. Stirred, not shaken, because Bond is a fucking ponce what don't know his liquor. Add two olives on a spear and pour.

Posted by: DC in River City at April 20, 2016 12:33 AM (e+1S5)

259
What IS she doing to that octopus? I don't think that you can show that kind of thing on a smart military blog, can you?

264
Now we're really in a pickle. Also, on the other link upthread about restarting the F-22 production line: dood, has anyone done the math on the number of component subcontractors for that jet who literally no longer exist?

Out of business? Chapter Eleven? Gone fishin'? Folded their tents? Joined the choir invisible? Pining for the fjords? Dead parrots?
Posted by: torquewrench at April 20, 2016 12:32 AM (noWW6)

LMAO... Maybe we could contract out to Airbus?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 20, 2016 12:37 AM (Ozsfq)

265
That's right Hillary. He'd be enjoying his stay in the hospital while in a coma induced by having his head struck repeatedly.

Yeah. Much better outcome.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 20, 2016 12:38 AM (Xo1Rt)

Yep. When precision construction on your strike fighter is Job One, hand it over to the Irish.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at April 20, 2016 12:43 AM (sl+zA)

272
By the way, once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, there were engineering trade studies on a navalized F-22.

They looked a whole lot different than the USAF version. They had canards. Shock horror! Bye-bye manufacturing commonality and shared purchasing costs.

However, that was also 25 years ago. The state of the art in digitally mediated flight control is worlds apart today from what it was back then. It may be that the same basic airframe could be made to board the ship gracefully with 2016-plus control laws.

Plenty of hard to track incidental costs in making the jet robust versus the structually grueling cat and trap cycle on the carrier, plus dealing with salt water corrosion issues. But not out of the question.

This presupposes (per comment above) that the F-22 production line is even plausibly restartable.

283
Bbc radio had a guy on today. He is color blind. Said he is "Trans species". He has had an antenna surgically attached to his skull. It emits some kind of noise when someone sends him a color "message" so he "hears" color. Says he believes he has merged with the Internet. The U.K. Let him take his passport picture with the antenna

Posted by: ThunderB at April 19, 2016 11:50 PM (zOTsN)

Now there's a guy who desperately needs a pair of Jack-in-the-Box bobbleheads for his antennas.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 20, 2016 01:17 AM (UsLZp)

284No one won MegaMillion tonight. So, Fri's jackpot is a mere $38,414,400 after federal taxes.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at April 20, 2016 01:19 AM (iQIUe)

285
Where I work, we've been forced to have all employees using temporary portable toilets. It didn't take long for the women to band together and demand that some of them be labeled "women only."

The reason: (and I predicted this!) men make bathrooms look like ape cages. Men are animals.

Posted by: RKae at April 20, 2016 01:21 AM (EwZ/b)

286He has had an antenna surgically attached to his skull. It emits some
kind of noise when someone sends him a color "message" so he "hears"
color.

He'll have to run a Level 2 Diagnostic, and then reconfigure that thing to emit an inverse tachyon beam if he wants to get out of next week's pickle.

Posted by: Captain J.L. Picard at April 20, 2016 01:22 AM (dHVbM)

287
to have all employees using temporary portable toilets. It didn't take long for the women to band together and demand that some of them be labeled "women only."

Women SAY that women's bathrooms are messy, because they haven't been in the men's room.

I used to clean public restrooms during my restaurant days. Women don't piss all over the floor. They don't go ape-shit insane and beat the holy hell out of stall doors. They don't save up a week's worth of crap and then shit it all over the seat like they were hanging ten feet over the toilet, pile a bunch of paper on it... and then just leave it there.

I used to have to clean feces out of the urinals.

Men are apes.

Posted by: RKae at April 20, 2016 01:29 AM (EwZ/b)

296
"The reason: (and I predicted this!) men make bathrooms look like ape cages."

Racking my brains here. Was it Rita Rudner who said that bachelor men live like "bears, with furniture"?

Posted by: torquewrench at April 20, 2016 01:30 AM (noWW6)

297Was it Rita Rudner who said that bachelor men live like "bears, with furniture"?

Depends how they were raised. I had older sisters, so there was some real enforcement of proper bathroom treatment. OTOH, a friend of mine, who'd anyone who'd never been to his home or shared a hotel room with him, would be assumed to be a Felix. But he is in fact an Oscar. Grew up with just brothers and to this day has never picked up on the idea of making sure nothing was left behind on the seat. It's a serious caveat to whenever we've worked together out of town.

Posted by: Epobirs at April 20, 2016 01:42 AM (IdCqF)

300
The lying skank and e-mail fraudster running for President shouldn't even be a candidate in the first place. Channeling my inner Hillary here.

302
I remember some bit Rita Rudner did that had me rolling in the floor. It was about her mother wanting her to have children and all that. She said she asked her husband if he'd be in the room with her when she gave birth. He said yeah...if it was a really big room....with a bar at the other end.

304
In that same routine Rudner's grandmother asked when she would a great grandmother. Rita told her, "When you do something extraordinary."

Posted by: Epobirs at April 20, 2016 01:50 AM (IdCqF)

305
My friend, who follows such things, says that vinyl sales are beginning to surpass CD sales in stores. Interesting.

I've got about 100 old vinyl records from the 70s mostly; I've checked prices on ebay a few times and didn't see any #s for the ones I have that screamed to me 'sell sell sell'. I could get a couple of grand for them, which ain't too shabby I guess.

On the road today. Mom's sister died after a long illness so we are in El Dorado AR; this former city of 35k is dying. Moose out front sez the current population is 19k and everything just looks old and grimy.

The place would make an excellent stage setting for a zombie apocalypse flick though.

I've got about 100 old vinyl records from the 70s mostly; I've checked prices on ebay a few times and didn't see any #s for the ones I have that screamed to me 'sell sell sell'. I could get a couple of grand for them, which ain't too shabby I guess.

On the road today. Mom's sister died after a long illness so we are in El Dorado AR; this former city of 35k is dying. Moose out front sez the current population is 19k and everything just looks old and grimy.

The place would make an excellent stage setting for a zombie apocalypse flick though.

Posted by: GnuBreed at April 20, 2016 01:50 AM (D2tDz)

Evidently, it nearly has -- from Wikipedia: "The cult classic horror movie, "Psycho from Texas" (Originally released as "Wheeler") was filmed in and around El Dorado in the early seventies. Interior and exterior shots of notable El Dorado locations, including the Court House, Hills Recreation Pool Parlor, Crab Apple Point, Ebbys Cafe, The Townhouse Restaurant, and many older El Dorado homes. A hired Texas outlaw comes to El Dorado to kidnap a retired oil man, his psychopathic ways are unleashed on the sleepy town folk of El Dorado."

316
Well, I'm a bit confused right now - Higgins is the bad guy on Kojak right now.
That's hard to compute...

Posted by: Chi at April 20, 2016 02:12 AM (Te2JU)

317
309 >> Dicogs dot com is the place to chase down the real value of what you have. But, condition is everything.

Thanks for the tip, garrett. Except for the earliest few, they were always cleaned with a Discwasher before play, but I never bagged them like you'd do if you were just into collecting them.

Snap crackle and pop is okay in a cereal bowl, but sucks for music.

Posted by: GnuBreed at April 20, 2016 02:12 AM (D2tDz)

318
Vinyl.
I'll admit to having over 500 albums. Probably more.
Most from the 70's. There are prabably a few that I haven't listened to yet, but Ive spent many hours cleaning & listening to those things.
Yeah, I'm a hipster. So what?!?!

Posted by: Chi at April 20, 2016 02:16 AM (Te2JU)

319
313 Evidently, it nearly has -- from Wikipedia: "The cult classic horror
movie, "Psycho from Texas" (Originally released as "Wheeler") was filmed
in and around El Dorado in the early seventies...

Posted by: cthulhu

Yeah, I've been here several times over the decades, and in the 70s this place was rockin' compared to now. Lots of abandoned buildings.

Posted by: GnuBreed at April 20, 2016 02:18 AM (D2tDz)

320
320 313 Evidently, it nearly has -- from Wikipedia: "The cult classic horror
movie, "Psycho from Texas" (Originally released as "Wheeler") was filmed
in and around El Dorado in the early seventies...

Posted by: cthulhu

Yeah, I've been here several times over the decades, and in the 70s this place was rockin' compared to now. Lots of abandoned buildings.

Posted by: GnuBreed at April 20, 2016 02:18 AM (D2tDz)

Having lived the majority of my life in Silicon Valley, I just don't get this. You've got cheap space, power, and internet. Why don't you airdrop-in something that currently is in Palo Alto that doesn't need to be? And, BTW, I don't mean within city limits -- too many cities have baked-in pension costs that exceed current payroll and need to file bankruptcy.

Posted by: cthulhu at April 20, 2016 02:24 AM (EzgxV)

321
To put things in perspective, you can take a warehouse in Silicon Valley and make it into a cube farm overnight on the cheap -- in fact, the fiancee had to manage her department's installation into a previous newspaper warehouse a few years back. The problem is the warehouse space (and any other square footage) is so damned pricey.

Posted by: cthulhu at April 20, 2016 02:28 AM (EzgxV)

322
Tell me something, if anyone is still here to know. Is there a good place to get replacement needles for an old (well, 80s era) phonograph? I've still got my old stereo rig from way back then when I cared about shit like that, and would like to get the record player going again, just for fun.

Speaking of that, what is with these little dinky speakers, now, anyway. Back in my day, a good set of speakers were honkin' huge. Big bass cones and resonant cabinets and all that.

Now it seems to be just some microscopic thing and they have "subwoofers" that are smaller than a woofer by a long shot in my day.

324
322 Tell me something, if anyone is still here to know. Is there a good place to get replacement needles for an old (well, 80s era) phonograph? I've still got my old stereo rig from way back then when I cared about shit like that, and would like to get the record player going again, just for fun.

Speaking of that, what is with these little dinky speakers, now, anyway. Back in my day, a good set of speakers were honkin' huge. Big bass cones and resonant cabinets and all that.

Now it seems to be just some microscopic thing and they have "subwoofers" that are smaller than a woofer by a long shot in my day.

Shaun King, fake black man (aka white man who posed as a black man) has been FIRED from his job at the Daily News for plagiarism. Who could have seen that coming. Him being a liar. Anyway, story at the NYPost

Posted by: ThunderB at April 20, 2016 02:37 AM (zOTsN)

326
You can get phono needles on Amazon.
More difficult are vacuum tubes.

Home late. Rain here has been gentle, not flooding as anticipated. Wet enough that the dog smells like a wet dog, though.

In my day, vinyl went from almost 78rpm-stiff to almost magazine-insert "floppy" thickness thinness. The later type seemed to degrade more quickly.

I haven't even looked at my vinyl collection in years. Most should be in good shape. I did the whole handle-by-the-edges, wipe-clean, lightweight tonearm, play-once-and-tape thing.

However...

In High School, a cousin asked to borrow some LPs for a party. When I went to retrieve them, I realized we had different philosophies about records. I think hers derived from 1950s 45RPMs. She'd stacked my LPs on the changer-spindle! There were finger smudges on the discs!! Some were still lying around, out of the sleeves, on the floor!!! A Doors album I think, and I know my then-brand-new Beatles -- Abbey Road, IIRC.

Did not ask her to buy replacements. But never lent out an LP to heathens again!

Shaun King, fake black man (aka white man who posed as a black man) has been FIRED from his job at the Daily News for plagiarism. Who could have seen that coming. Him being a liar. Anyway, story at the NYPost

Posted by: ThunderB at April 20, 2016 02:37 AM (zOTsN)

This is merely a circumstance. When the rectification of names happens, it will be decided whether he is really white or black -- and those who maintain otherwise will end up in the camps.

Posted by: cthulhu at April 20, 2016 02:43 AM (EzgxV)

329
Yeah, back when I cared about that stuff, a "subwoofer" was something else indeed. A really huge cabinet of a thing the purpose of which was to get the really low frequencies. I mean the stuff you feel more than hear.

That was sort of an exotic item. Calling these I see now "subwoofers", well it's a joke. I mean the woofers in my speakers were 14", the a midrange and a tweeter.

Home late. Rain here has been gentle, not flooding as anticipated. Wet enough that the dog smells like a wet dog, though.

In my day, vinyl went from almost 78rpm-stiff to almost magazine-insert "floppy" thickness thinness. The later type seemed to degrade more quickly.

I haven't even looked at my vinyl collection in years. Most should be in good shape. I did the whole handle-by-the-edges, wipe-clean, lightweight tonearm, play-once-and-tape thing.

However...

In High School, a cousin asked to borrow some LPs for a party. When I went to retrieve them, I realized we had different philosophies about records. I think hers derived from 1950s 45RPMs. She'd stacked my LPs on the changer-spindle! There were finger smudges on the discs!! Some were still lying around, out of the sleeves, on the floor!!! A Doors album I think, and I know my then-brand-new Beatles -- Abbey Road, IIRC.

Did not ask her to buy replacements. But never lent out an LP to heathens again!

Had a lot of classic albums before I went away to college and converted to the Church of Discwasher. Newer acquisitions fared much better -- but, yeah: record changers, leave on spindle until dusty, handle like dinner plates....

336
Compliance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_Ke9whr6oY -- a dog is trained to stay in a box while traveling by car. What does the dog think complies with this as the box shrinks?

Posted by: cthulhu at April 20, 2016 02:54 AM (EzgxV)

337
And what's more, I remember back in the 70s and 80s, one of my uncles, lived out Alameda and was a recording engineer in his younger days, used to swear vacuum tubes sounded much better than this newfangled transistor shit.

And he showed graphs of high order behavior and frequency response and all that crap to "prove it".

Daily Beast accused Shaun King of plagerism. And he tweeted that it was Chelsea Clinton's fault

Oh I hope this continues

Posted by: ThunderB at April 20, 2016 02:59 AM (zOTsN)

339
Not that long ago the only source for vacuum tubes was in the former Soviet Union.
The company was called SovTek.

Posted by: navybrat at April 20, 2016 03:00 AM (8QGte)

340
For many years, I had an Akai(?) reel-to-reel with auto-reverse. Put on a reel of recorded music and it would play both sides of the tape. I wonder what I ever did with that wonderful machine? Sold it in the Stressful Days, I suppose. I still have some of the tapes...

Let me tell you about my quadrophonic setup... some other day. Time to retire now. Been fun.

♥

Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

342
Amplifier technology has been fairly static for the last 30 years or so.
In that same time, speaker technology (and microphone technology) has made great strides. You can buy much more efficient speakers that sound better, weigh less and cost less than those of 30 years ago.

Posted by: navybrat at April 20, 2016 03:03 AM (8QGte)

343And he showed graphs of high order behavior and frequency response and all that crap to "prove it".

But 98% of people can't tell the difference, which is what the tweeks never seemed to understand or care about. Normal CD quality music is better than necessary for most people. And the fact is that it doesn't matter what your music is coming from or what your amp is - most of the quality of music being played depends on your speakers.

Yeah, not the same. The sister that died lived near El Dorado; she has two surviving sisters counting my mom; we drove up from south MS and her other sister was too ill to make the trip from wherever she lives, but it's not El Dorado.

350
I'm just having fun getting in the "get off my lawn" character with this. Don't pay me any attention. By "new fangled transistor" stuff, that uncle of mine was talking about the "new" transistors vs old vacuum tubes amplifiers and that sort of thing with audio.

And yes, I'm pretty sure these audiophiles are hearing things that exist only in their minds. The human ear, well most human ears, aren't capable of hearing such minute little differences, if the speakers even pass it and all that.

I remember something that struck me as ridiculous. It was about speaker wiring. They wanted deoxygenated copper for the wires. Oxygen acts as "scavenger", and regular copper is going to have some it.

But if you get down to the nitty-gritty, and look at the fine details of some behavior, "pure copper" without that oxygen in it has some "better" electrical properties.

358
"Rain here has been gentle, not flooding as anticipated. Wet enough that the dog smells like a wet dog, though."

Dog A: refused to go outside when even the most occasional gentle and mild raindrop might possibly land upon her coat.

Dog B: barked wildly at the door to go outside while a potentially lethal heavy storm-driven inundation rushed by only twenty feet from the doorstep.

Not doing too well with this dog-whisperer business. Nor with the cat-whisperer, horse-whisperer, et al. Also: humans are incomprehensible. When will the saucer return to whisk me back from exile?

Posted by: torquewrench at April 20, 2016 03:41 AM (noWW6)

359
I was always very disappointed that audio specs like DVD-A and SACD never caught on. The difference on relatively cheap gear is quite noticeable for me, a lifelong audio anti-snob. At the time the iPod was becoming the dominant factor in formats and storage capacity was at a premium. It got even worse with phones using flash instead of the micro hard drives in the early iPods. Those can do close to 500 GB now, which would allow for tons of excellent quality content but most new stuff is designed to be played on awful equipment and sounds like it. Yet the kids turn out for it and that is all that really matters.

Posted by: Epobirs at April 20, 2016 03:46 AM (IdCqF)

360
Have to go look for the Democrat voters numbers, not that it matters, but hoping Bernie kept it close.
Good morning horde

Posted by: Skip at April 20, 2016 03:48 AM (Dpy/y)

361What's the speech for?
Posted by: The Political Hat at April 20, 2016 03:40 AM (vBeA5)

Church youth group. Talking about faith. Gonna focus on my high school -> college -> young adult experience, hope it'll give them an idea of what to expect.

Bearing in mind my school years didn't have half the PC nonsense theirs has and will have.

362
I remember reading something many years ago about the whole tube vs
transistor "thing". It said, IIRC, that if there were any detectable
differences, it was really about how they distorted.

IOW,
older vacuum tube stuff, when it was driven to the edge of its envelope
or whatever in some range would distort differently than the newer
transistor equipment. And this was for the "common" equipment, not some
exotic high dollar stuff that only a fool would spend money on.

So he was arguing that the purists were just preferring one type of
distortion behavior over another, and the newer stuff may distort
actually less in a objective sense in the same range at the same levels
they were used to and all that. And that was the difference.

363
Bernie 41.89% Hillary 58.11%
Bernie won 5 districts Hillary 21
Time to make the coffee

Posted by: Skip at April 20, 2016 03:58 AM (Dpy/y)

364
356 ... Have to agree about the photography. Most of my photos these days are snap shot types to serve as models for sketching and painting. (I'm no artist but love the process and it's only for my own amusement.) Digital color stuff has come a long way.

But black and white is another matter. I've never seen digital to match the results of a good, silver-content film used in a decent medium or, better yet, a large format camera. My Minoltacord TLR and old 4x5 press camera are capable of superb B and W images. Heck, my old mechanical Pentax SLR gear can do a fine job.

Damn! Now I'm thinking about getting the dark room going again. And I have too many hobbies as it is.

366
I'm still hoping The Bern can get just barely more actual delegates than Hillary, so the election being stolen by superdelegates is impossible to ignore. Wouldn't it be awesome to see the Democrats implode the way the Republicans have?

Posted by: Cato the Rebel Without a Party at April 20, 2016 05:03 AM (J+mig)

Speaker technology today is excellent and much better than the past if you know what you're doing. Older speakers with huge bass drivers required wide boxes. The wider the front baffle, the narrower the sound dispersion of the speaker. The narrower the baffle, the wider the dispersion and the better the ability of the speakers working together to reproduce the soundstage. That's a simple way of describing it.

A quality, powered subwoofer 12" or larger is great because it relieves the main amp/receiver the job of having to power the lower frequencies which require a lot of energy to reproduce. The main amp is then free to more efficiently power the mids and highs. Also, below about 100Hz frequencies combine or negate each other to create peaks and nulls, like ripples in water. These areas will sound boomy or thin, respectively, and are dependent upon room dimensions. A subwoofer allows for a placement separate from the front speakers that can help optimize the bass for the main listening position(s). By using multiple subwoofers you can even out the frequency response of the bass throughout the room, mostly. This is especially useful for home theatre applications.

Hope this makes sense. It's allergy season here and I'm on Benydrool.

Posted by: Love Hertz at April 20, 2016 05:15 AM (no0Da)

370But I do photography, and can say that film beats digital imaging cold.

Posted by: Kaspar Gutman at April 20, 2016 03:39 AM (A305J)

The major difference, though, is that film was super expensive and time consuming while digital photos are now free and instantaneous. Add to that the fact that you can have a cheap 1/60,000th of a second electronic shutter versus an expensive 1/4000th physical shutter and you can shoot a thousands of digital frames a second ... for as long as you want for, once again, no cost - something that was impossible for all but the very well funded, highly specialized professionals.

384
Good morning ONT morons. Just finished the EMT news links. As for audio stuff I have been heavy into audio equipment since the 60s. I have heard the "tube vs transistor" argument for decades. I have had tube powered amps as well as transistor amps both over my many years as an audiophile. Given equal specs and power ratings there is no audible difference between them.

The only possible reason for buying one of these hugely expensive tube amps is that they will take over-driving more than transistors before they fail. But in both case driving any amp into overload and distortion is likely to blow out your speaker system, especially the tweeters.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 05:42 AM (vvmPQ)

385
BTW I am currently using 15" Infinity Studio Monitor speakers. I had to order a new pair of the 15 inch drivers a couple of years ago because the cone suspension rotted out on them. The replacement divers (which I ordered from MCM) actually sound better than the originals.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 05:46 AM (vvmPQ)

386
Where on earth did that come from? {scrolls frantically through comments to see what she missed}

184

Posted by: JT at April 20, 2016 05:51 AM (7e7aZ)

387
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 05:46 AM (vvmPQ)

Interesting.

Do you know the model number of the Infinities?

Just curious.

Posted by: Love Hertz at April 20, 2016 05:56 AM (no0Da)

388
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 05:46 AM (vvmPQ)

With the incredible advances in materials, it seems like speakers should be getting better and better.

I just upgraded a center channel speaker, and the difference is amazing.

Clinging to my 1979 Pioneer tube amp. It was getting a little fuzzy but I found someone who could work on it. Sounds great again. I'm electronically challenged but I know what every dial on it does. It's in a pretty wooden case. Why switch?

402
397 Clinging to my 1979 Pioneer tube amp. It was getting
a little fuzzy but I found someone who could work on it. Sounds great
again. I'm electronically challenged but I know what every dial on it
does. It's in a pretty wooden case. Why switch?

Posted by: creeper at April 20, 2016 06:16 AM (sZAiE)

That is one of the problems with tube amps. Tubes do deteriorate over time and fail like incandescent light bulbs. That "fuzzy" sound was most likely due to a failing output tube.

Yes, that is so and could have been one of the reasons those $20,000 speakers in Atlanta did not impress me. It is hard to determine what a pair of speakers will sound like in your home when you listen to them in a store.The major room problems that you see are hardwood floors and bare walls with few pieces of "soft" furniture. That can be cured.

When I bought those Infinity speakers though, the store had them located in a special listening room which allowed you to make a better judgement. Unfortunately that store is no longer in buisness.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 06:28 AM (vvmPQ)

405
You can get area rugs for the floors, and try hanging framed art at the first reflection points on the side walls. Or bookcases full of books if you have them. An area rug is usually good right in front of the mains.

Some folks buy fancy audio panels that help kill reflections. They work, but I always try to do it with things I already own. Hard surfaces create reflections that bounce around and muddy the sound.

Posted by: Love Hertz at April 20, 2016 06:30 AM (no0Da)

406When I bought those Infinity speakers though, the store had them located in a special listening room which allowed you to make a better judgement.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 06:28 AM (vvmPQ)

So, basically, you have to move into the store to get your speakers to really work.

407
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 06:28 AM (vvmPQ)

There are some really nice internet-only speaker manufacturers that will let you try their stuff out for 30 days so you can hear how they sound in your room. Some even pay for return ship if you decide they're not right for you.

Posted by: Love Hertz at April 20, 2016 06:36 AM (no0Da)

408
Thanks, Hertz. Got lots of the above...throw rugs, furniture, bookcases. The sound is good enough fer who it's fer.

Posted by: creeper at April 20, 2016 06:37 AM (sZAiE)

409
406 So, basically, you have to move into the store to get your speakers to really work.

Unfortunately it is the opposite of that. You really will not know how a set pf speakers will sound in your home until you take them home. That listening room was better than what most stores have but it still wasn't ideal.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 06:39 AM (vvmPQ)

410
407 There are some really nice internet-only speaker
manufacturers that will let you try their stuff out for 30 days so you
can hear how they sound in your room. Some even pay for return ship if
you decide they're not right for you.

Posted by: Love Hertz at April 20, 2016 06:36 AM (no0Da)

What I try to do when buying speakers now is to stick with speaker systems that I have had in the past and liked. Right now that is Infinity and Klipsch. I used to have a couple of pairs of AR speakers but their quality has really gone downhill and their prices were getting outrageous.

414
I bought a Crown D-150 amp and preamp along with a pair of ESS Heil monitors back in the 80's and have stuck with that rig. It's all sitting out in the garage up on a shelf because the set of $10.00 speakers fits on my computer desk. Loud concerts, guns and fireworks killed my hearing.

416
405 You can get area rugs for the floors, and try hanging framed art at the first reflection points on the side walls. Or bookcases full of books if you have them. An area rug is usually good right in front of the mains.

417
What I try to do when buying speakers now is to stick with speaker systems that I have had in the past and liked. Right now that is Infinity and Klipsch. I used to have a couple of pairs of AR speakers but their quality has really gone downhill and their prices were getting outrageous.

419
414
I bought a Crown D-150 amp and preamp along with a pair of ESS Heil
monitors back in the 80's and have stuck with that rig. It's all sitting
out in the garage up on a shelf because the set of $10.00 speakers fits
on my computer desk. Loud concerts, guns and fireworks killed my
hearing.

I was looking at that too. But NY is a very closed state primary - to vote yesterday you will have had to gave registered in your party at least 6 months ago.
A general election is open.
So, theoretically, a GOP candidate has a chance.

425
Well its 7:05 so not likely to get an EMT today. Will post links here.

Good Morning Morons. Today is Wednesday, April 20, 2016. On this day in 1985 the ATF raided The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord compound in northern Arkansas. Their rational for the raid was searching for illegal weapons and evidence for acts of terrorism. The far left and the MFM identify this group as "far right" however they were associated with the Neo-Nazi group Aryan Nation. Since the Nazis were socialists they were indeed a racist far left outfit.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:01 AM (vvmPQ)

426
The big news from yesterday was that Trump and Scankles both won NY in a blowout. That was expected. However Kashit came in a distant second over Cruz. This was the influence of NYC where Clinton won big and the avowed commie won almost all of the other districts. When I lived in upstate NY there was little love for NYC.

http://tinyurl.com/guj6fkj

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:01 AM (vvmPQ)

427
And 2/3 of those Democrat voters in NY think that Wall Street hurts the economy.

429
Swedish Minister and member of the "Green Party" called 9-11 terrorist attack an "accident". Looking at the Green Party they look to be like most other eco-Nazi groups. They are essentially watermelons, green on the outside and red on the inside. They are aligned with Sweden's Social Democrat Party which is a communist group.

I was looking at that too. But NY is a very closed state primary -
to vote yesterday you will have had to gave registered in your party at
least 6 months ago.

A general election is open.

So, theoretically, a GOP candidate has a chance.....I wouldn't put too much stock into the raw numbers from last night. As said above it is a true closed Primary State and you had hillary who claims NY as her "home" state running against sanders promising ever increasing amounts of free $hit and that is going to drive turnout higher in the Primary but not in the General I don't think. Trump actually might be able to win NY when push comes to shove. They love him there.

Posted by: The Great White Scotsman at April 20, 2016 07:02 AM (iONHu)

When it comes to pandering nobody does it better than Hillary Clinton, who is desperate to become the nation's first black female president.

Well Todd, it is amazing because she really doesn't need to do that unless she is trying to swing a huge FSA turnout like Obama got. She already has the black vote in the bag. Personally if I were black I would be insulted by her bad phony black accent.

http://tinyurl.com/gp6a2gz

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:02 AM (vvmPQ)

433
The MI AG is filing charges against 3 people over the Flint water system pollution.

http://tinyurl.com/hant8br

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:02 AM (vvmPQ)

434
The Feds finally file charges against somebody in the VA. A nurse who downed "4 or 5 beers" while on-call and then reported for an emergency operation is being charged with being drunk while performing duties in the OR.

http://tinyurl.com/jelrj3m

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:03 AM (vvmPQ)

435
This is absolutely an abomination and demonstrates that Susan Martinez is not the "conservative" everyone thinks she is. She will pay the alcohol prohibitionist group MADD to monitor judges for letting DUI defendants off easy. Recall that the President of MADD resigned a few years ago saying the group had become more of a ban alcohol movement rather than fighting DUI. In any case paying a biased and non-legal group to monitor judges and post their opinions of a judge's rulings in legal cases is certainly a travesty of the law.

http://tinyurl.com/jvfavyz

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:03 AM (vvmPQ)

436
Intel is laying off 12,000 workers after mass hiring of H1B Visa workers and complaining they need more because "they can't find enough American workers". This is one of my major beefs with Ted Cruz and I don't believe his sudden election year reversal on this corrupt program.

http://tinyurl.com/zyzef6l

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:03 AM (vvmPQ)

437
A SF religious group is suing the city over their open air urinal in a popular park. I don't know why, SF has had open air urinals since I lived in CA in the 70s. Only they were called sidewalks.

http://tinyurl.com/jcossc2

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:03 AM (vvmPQ)

438
Feds are building new internet hub to allow people to access your medical records "for DNA" research. This is an outgrowth of those digital record requirements of Obama Care. This is an outrageous privacy invasion and where are the liberals who always scream about this kind of shit when a Republican is in office? Hell, they opposed the Feds getting library records.

http://tinyurl.com/zymoctj

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:04 AM (vvmPQ)

439
Republican Judiciary Committee Chairman sends a letter to the DHS over alleged retaliation against a border patrol whistle blower. Which, BTW, is also illegal. But even impeachment of the head of DHS is also off the table.

http://tinyurl.com/z69rkve

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:04 AM (vvmPQ)

440
Well, despite court ruling after court ruling, we find that churches can get millions in federal grants if they are advocates of open borders and settling illegals in the US.

442
Federal appeals court rules in favor of a teen that was born as a female but identifies as a male and wants to use male bathrooms contrary to school rules. The ruling allows a civil suit against the school board to go forward. The judge cited a policy by the Department of Education (an unconstitutional federal department created by Jimmy the Peanut). Since when is a policy by the DOE a basis for overruling local law? This is a BS 2-1 decision and simply more lawfare from the Gaystapo via the ACLU. It also means that the VA school district will have to pay the ACLU for legal costs and that is the real reason they take these cases.

http://tinyurl.com/jk54tmq

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:05 AM (vvmPQ)

443
Funny pic regarding the Lexington/Concord battle anniversary and mocking the gun grabbers of today. Unfortunately today's MA would be all in for the government to take away citizens' guns.

http://tinyurl.com/hruvcbt

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:05 AM (vvmPQ)

444
Look at what your paycheck will look like under Krazy Kommie Bernie.

http://tinyurl.com/z56f9bt

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:05 AM (vvmPQ)

445
Some good news. McShitty appears to be facing a tough primary challenger so he is skipping the GOP convention to fight.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee: On Tuesday, the Tennessee General Assembly declared it would sue the federal government over its refugee resettlement program on Tenth Amendment grounds. The State Senate passed a resolution authorizing that lawsuit in a 29 to 4 vote one day after it passed the Tennessee House by a 69 to 25 margin.

I guess they haven't heard, the 10th amendment has been essentially nullified by SCOTUS using a bad interpretation of the 14th amendment.

http://tinyurl.com/juc9n5r

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:06 AM (vvmPQ)

447Mother of the young woman who was killed by an illegal drunk street racing sounds off. ICE declined to hold him under Obama's catch and release no borders program.

Eswin spent four days in jail and is believed to have fled the country, Michelle Root said. He posted $5,000 bond, which was less than the cost it was to bury my daughter Sarah. Because of the lack of controls, the police, immigration, U.S. Marshals and law enforcement have little or no information on his whereabouts.

Frankly I am really surprised by a $5K bond for what would be felony DUI or possibly even reckless homicide here in SC. And where is MADD in this case?

http://tinyurl.com/h3ff5v7

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:06 AM (vvmPQ)

448
This alone may make a vote for Cruz worthwhile. RINO King says he will commit suicide if Cruz wins the nomination.

450
Heritage looks at the "top 5" reasons for opposing Obama's illegal unapproved treaty for the AGW scam. Looks like they wussed out on the real number 1 reason; the entire thing is a scam. There is no climate change.

454
432 Well Todd, it is amazing because she really doesn't need to do that unless she is trying to swing a huge FSA turnout like Obama got. She already has the black vote in the bag.
--------------------------------------------------------

One of the things I learned from the 538 elections tool is how important turnout of the African American vote is for Hilldogger. She has no shot (or, at least, a greatly reduced chance) if she can't get great turnout.

457
Some good news. McShitty appears to be facing a tough primary challenger so he is skipping the GOP convention to fight.

--

There really should be a forced retirement age for these Senate dinosaurs. At nearly 80, this bag of bones should long ago have left Washington to go live out the remainder of his life like most normal people would. He certainly has the money to live the rest of his life in luxury and rest. I guess the almighty power and perks are just too much to give up. Amazing.

Posted by: Lady in Black - Death to the Man Bun at April 20, 2016 07:18 AM (+FSld)

460
If the Founding Fathers could've seen the bunch of crooks we have in office now they'd have written term limits into the first Article of the Constitution.

Posted by: creeper at April 20, 2016 07:24 AM (sZAiE)

461
457 There really should be a forced retirement age for
these Senate dinosaurs. At nearly 80, this bag of bones should long ago
have left Washington to go live out the remainder of his life like most
normal people would. He certainly has the money to live the rest of his
life in luxury and rest. I guess the almighty power and perks are just
too much to give up. Amazing.

Posted by: Lady in Black - Death to the Man Bun at April 20, 2016 07:18 AM (+FSld)

He loves being a backstabbing RINO so much he will stay until they plant him.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:26 AM (vvmPQ)

462
>>>>
If the Founding Fathers could've seen the bunch of crooks we have in
office now they'd have written term limits into the first Article of the
Constitution......And I think they would have had a hell of a lot more to write in the 10th Amendment regarding States Rights and how the Fed can bugger off.

Posted by: The Great White Scotsman at April 20, 2016 07:27 AM (iONHu)

465
458 And I like VNN on the ONT. Your links always seem to get stomped on when they're on the EMT.

Posted by: creeper at April 20, 2016 07:22 AM (sZAiE)

The stomping of the EMT and the erratic nature of the EMT is a relatively new phenomena. That is what caused me to initially decide to stop the news links.

It generally takes me between 2.5 to 3 hours to go through all those sites for links every day that I have not been hit by the rocking chair. When they get stomped in less than an hour that is frustrating.I may start posting them at 6 am on the ONT without waiting on the EMT. The problem with posting on the ONT though is that right now we have an auto delete that erases any post that mentions the current Trump/Cruz war.

I'm normally up all the time,, except when I'm at a Trump rally, then I'm down.. Like flat on my face, broken and bleeding down....

~sniff-sniff~

Posted by: Michelle Fields at April 20, 2016 07:32 AM (HSmrB)

467
I can still win this thing! The people saying I am mathematically eliminated aren't taking into account how many delegates I can persuade w/ my personal charisma, smooth speaking voice, and "way" with the lady delegates.

The stomping of the EMT and the erratic nature of the EMT is a relatively new phenomena. That is what caused me to initially decide to stop the news links.

It generally takes me between 2.5 to 3 hours to go through all those sites for links every day that I have not been hit by the rocking chair. When they get stomped in less than an hour that is frustrating.
I may start posting them at 6 am on the ONT without waiting on the EMT. The problem with posting on the ONT though is that right now we have an auto delete that erases any post that mentions the current Trump/Cruz war.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:31 AM (vvmPQ)

====

Thanks for all you do Vic!!!

Posted by: TeamRawDog at April 20, 2016 07:37 AM (10hEu)

471
Trey Gowdy says more illegals are running around after committing felonies than the population of Pittsburgh.

Gee, I wonder why that doesn't get more attention.

Posted by: MTF at April 20, 2016 07:39 AM (/m8T6)

472
465
The
stomping of the EMT and the erratic nature of the EMT is a relatively
new phenomena. That is what caused me to initially decide to stop the
news links.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:31 AM (vvmPQ)

I appreciate the time and effort you put into your news links and synopsis. In cases of enstompenings, I do go back and look for them in previous posts and I'm sure others do the same.

473
What really irks me is that McShitty skated out on the ethics violations in the Keating Five scandal only because it occurred while he was in the House and the Senate said they did not have jurisdiction. The House said they did not have jurisdiction because he was now in the Senate.

Everyone of those people involved in that should have been prosecuted by the DOJ for bribery and corruption but our illustrious government takes care of its own.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:42 AM (vvmPQ)

474
Quoth Vic: "It generally takes me between 2.5 to 3 hours to go through all those sites for link..."

Well, however you're doing it, you make an excellent job of separating the wheat from the chaff.

Posted by: creeper at April 20, 2016 07:44 AM (sZAiE)

475
Can someone give me a good reason to stay in the U.N.? Yesterday's outrage was the Peacekeeper's who caused the ongoing cholera epidemic in Haiti, about which the Haiti-obsessed Clintons have done nothing, and today's is the redefinition of Jerusalem's Temple Mount to say there never was a Jewish Temple there. It never existed, as of yesterday anyway at the United Nations.

That's our money at work folks. Well, Chinese money we borrowed for the purpose anyway.

Every conservative I know wants us out of the UN. It has been taken over by the muzzies and the communists because the third world shit holes are able to vote in what they want. And if we have a Demo-commie in the WH they will agree with them.

My state, Alabama, is toying with the idea of adopting a referendum model. Maybe we should have referenda, with the stipulation that a secession proposal should ALWAYS be included.

Posted by: Cloyd Freud, Unemployed at April 20, 2016 07:51 AM (eHpnh)

485
Boy, ain't it the truth? Gowdy and Paul Ryan were cut from the same bolt of cloth.

Posted by: creeper at April 20, 2016 07:47 AM (sZAiE)

Straight talk there.

I would love to go back to the day that Gub'nor Walker stepped on his penis during that staged illegal alien stunt. Could you imagine where he would be today if he had told that little girl,
"Why yes we are going to deport your mnom and dad, you can go with or we will find you a new home.

486
Gowdy is much more conservative than Ryan on votes, but his chairing of committees was a massive fail. Yes, all mouth and no action. But Cruz is also like that in a lot of ways.

And it just might be that in Gowdy's case the House leadership is threatening him and marginalizing him. Remember the Boner policy of kicking Republicans off of committee assignments if they strayed from the RNCe plantation.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 07:53 AM (vvmPQ)

487
Trey Gowdy says more illegals are running around after committing felonies than the population of Pittsburgh

--

Yeah, thanks for noticing. Does he remember his support for a "pathway" a couple years ago?

Posted by: Lady in Black - Death to the Man Bun at April 20, 2016 07:56 AM (+FSld)

488"What will happen to all the western socialists that cater to muslims when muslims no longer have any need for them.

I'm sure they will be given a couple of options."

Refer to what happened after the Iranian revolution in 1979 when socialist and Muslim fundamentalists teamed up to oust the Shah. It did not go well for the socialists afterward. Few lived to tell about it.

490
Until they build a brig uner capitol, I don't know what you expect from a congressional hearing. If the media protects the administration and GOPe is afraid to shut down the government , I dont know where you go.

Posted by: Jean at April 20, 2016 07:58 AM (cXiMR)

491
I sure do hope Obama thinks "my work is done here". Please Lord, no more.

In a game of what if...wouldn't that mean essentially that the remainder of the US would fall utterly and finally under "progressive" control? Without TX and their electoral votes, the Dems would never lose another presidency. Maybe I'm wrong.

Posted by: Lady in Black - Death to the Man Bun at April 20, 2016 08:02 AM (+FSld)

495
487 Yeah, thanks for noticing. Does he remember his support for a "pathway" a couple years ago?

Posted by: Lady in Black - Death to the Man Bun at April 20, 2016 07:56 AM (+FSld)

I don't remember that. He has generally been anti-illegal and anti-amnesty which is what "pathway to citizenship" is. In fact, the pro-illegal groups in the US hate his ass.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 08:03 AM (vvmPQ)

496
Changing gears, I find it funny that the networks have so little polling info about Indiana. Like it's a black whole. What is this, 1850? We need to wait for a two week-old newspaper to find out what's going on?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 20, 2016 08:04 AM (eAZif)

497
Well dump is up now. I think I will hit the rocking chair. We have an invasion of the in laws coming in this weekend and mys schedule for the week has already been mapped out by wifey from Friday through Monday.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at April 20, 2016 08:05 AM (vvmPQ)

498
@494. If Texas goes, they won't go alone. Could be at least 26 other states would go with them.

502
I would rather Texas split into four states. 8 Sen Cruz's could be decent push towards santiy.

Posted by: Jean at April 20, 2016 08:16 AM (cXiMR)

503
I don't remember that. He has generally been anti-illegal and anti-amnesty which is what "pathway to citizenship" is. In fact, the pro-illegal groups in the US hate his ass.

--

It was something he said a few years ago. I can't find the quote now, but I remember it honked me off, since he's my rep. I was surprised he said it, too.

Posted by: Lady in Black - Death to the Man Bun at April 20, 2016 08:17 AM (+FSld)

504
>>>481
There it is in a nutshell, folks: America needs a guy with personal charisma, a smooth speaking voice and a way with the ladies.

A whole nation of idiots, armed with half-wits and voting machines, is about to elect an old entitled and dumb Democrat to confront the Progressive challenge. This won't end well.
Posted by: MTF at April 20, 2016 07:49 AM (/m8T6)

That and remember as first reported on this very blog - Romney lost b/c Obama had better "Cares about people like me" numbers despite having a yuuuge advantage on every substantive issue, like the economy.

And nobody *NOBODY* screams to the LIV "I empathize w/ you" like this xtra-loveable Teddy Bear

#CruzCharismaConnection

Posted by: Teddy Bear Cruz at April 20, 2016 08:26 AM (10hEu)

505
"The man who attempted to kill George Zimmerman should have never had a concrete blunt force object in the first place"..

Fixed it

Posted by: Willy at April 20, 2016 08:29 AM (Ffw22)

506
That young man who who violently attacked George Zimmerman should never have been indoctrinated in the idea that failing to show him an exaggerated, undeserved amount of "respect" should be perceived as a "diss" due to his race, and as automatic justification to attack another man.

Well look at it this way, the political reality we currently live in was created by a handful of Democrats, FDR, LBJ, et al.

We've created an enormous welfare state and a fully weaponized carnivorous federal leviathan that services at least 47pct of our population.

What would Conservstive governance and welfare state look like?

Well at its base it would reduce the size scope
and reach of the federal leviathan and devolve power, money and control back to the states.

But there are at least two problems.

Problem one: You have an entrenched federal bureaucracy that will fight this tooth and nail.

Problem two: Most states would fight this as well as they would have to provide these services that is currently being funded and supported by federal dollars and infrastructure.

Ultimately people do not want to live in a system that would give the maximum amount of autonomy and control because the nub is people do not mind control because if that were the case we would have that society, and we don't.

Posted by: Kreplach at April 20, 2016 09:06 AM (035GJ)

508
As an American expat living in Germany, this "overnight" thread has been my "first thing in the morning" read... I offer my long overdue thanks for your offerings, and the effort involved in presenting them to us.
Wirklich, Sie sind in vielerlei Hinsicht mein Prüfstein zu Hause.
Simply said, dude, thanks a hell of a lot. I more than appreciate it.
scb